MOVING the High Court Registry of Sarawak and Sabah from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu is purely a “judicial decision” of the top four judges, said de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong, today.

He said the chief justice, president of the Court of Appeal, chief Jjdge of Malaya, and the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak last month agreed to the move.

“Moving the registry to Kota Kinabalu changes nothing as far as the administration of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak is concerned.

“Nothing physical moves except for the residence of the Registrar of the High Court,” he said in a statement issued from Sandakan today.

The move also does not bear any financial implications, he said.

The High Court Registry of Sabah and Sarawak had been in Kuching, Sarawak for the past 55 years.

He added that there was nothing in the law or the federal constitution that said the registry shall remain in Kuching forever and that Sabah also has the right to house the registry.

He said the former chief judge, Richard Malanjum had wanted the registry to be housed in the new Kota Kinabalu Court complex when it was ready for occupation late last year, .

“This idea was put to the top management who also agreed. However the Advocates Association of Sarawak flatly rejected the idea,” he said.

Liew said Malanjum then wrote to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad seeking permission to move the registry to Kota Kinabalu, which Dr Mahathir granted.
 
Thereafter the King early this month granted his royal assent to move the registry to Kota Kinabalu.
 
“It is only after that the chief registrar issued the circular of relocation on April 19, 2019,” he said.

The legal fraternity and the public learnt of the relocation after the circular was leaked and made its rounds on social media.

Earlier today lawyer and former Padungan state rep Dominique Ng told The Malaysian Insight that the relocation was “clearly yet another unconstitutional action taken by the Pakatan Harapan government as there is no indication that the chief minister of Sarawak was ever consulted (on the move)”.

He said Liew, who is from Sabah, was “clearly politically motivated” to move the register. – April 21, 2019.